How Will the Girls We Sponsor Bring the Change Africa Needs So Desperately?

Their voices are compelling and full of hope:

Angela Herman Andrew: “I would like to be an Engineer.”

Emmy Steven Shemdangiwa’s favorite subjects are Physics, Chemistry and Biology. “I want to be a Doctor.”

Helen Bernard Mdoe: “I would like to become a Lawyer.”

Jesca Martin Ngoma: “I would like to become an Accountant.”

The Sisters of Our Lady of Usambara educate more than 1000 young women every year

The schools established by Father Damian and staffed by many Sisters of Our Lady of Usambara educate more than 1000 young women every year. The Sisters and lay teachers, having been born and raised in Tanzania know better than anyone else what effect the disparity in status between men and women has on a girl’s future. While the government of Tanzania declares men and women to be equal, customary law dictates the role that women play in a society still rooted in male superiority and dominance.

Women’s inferior education and literacy rates keep them marginalized

Women’s inferior education and literacy rates keep them marginalized and virtually absent in politics and business. Arranged marriages are common; wives are expected to make the home, raise the children, clean, cook, carry water, sow, tend, harvest crops, and work at menial jobs outside the home if possible. Girls are withdrawn from school before boys if money becomes tight and it is a common belief that it is unnecessary to educate females at all. Incidents of violence against women increase yearly.

You can see that against all odds the young women we support embrace the chance they have to get an education. After completing four years of study, they are among the 5% best educated, and have the distinct advantage of getting a job which would allow them to feed their families from then on.